1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the collection, densification and storage of recyclable commodities, and more particularly to a machine for collecting, densifying and storing a plurality of different types of recyclable commodities and which can process and store each of the densified commodities separately. More particularly, it relates to an assembly which can both crush glass containers, and shred aluminum or plastic containers, and distribute the densified remains to respective segregated storage areas.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the increasing emphasis in recent years on environmental protection, the recycling of used beverage containers and other similar commodities has become an important factor in the conservation effort. More specifically, the recycling of aluminum, glass and plastic containers has proven to be environmentally beneficial.
On the other hand, non-returnable containers for beverages and other goods are widely used because their cost has been less than the cost of recycling and/or cleaning reusable deposit containers and bottles. One significant effect of the widespread use of non-deposit containers has been increased litter in public places, and overflow of garbage dumps and landfills.
To combat litter and increase the amount of material that is recycled, several states have enacted mandatory "deposit laws" which require the use of containers having an added deposit cost. When the customer purchases a product in such a container, a container deposit, typically one to five cents, is added to the purchase price. After consumption of the product, the consumer can obtain a refund of the deposit by returning the empty container, often to the retailer, for recycling. The amount of the deposit may be adjusted to create an incentive for returning the container that is greater than the inconvenience in doing so. In these states, retailers generally collect the used containers and sell them to distributors or others who pay the retailer for the scrap value of the containers plus an amount to cover the retailer's handling costs.
Since the high labor cost of processing recycled material often makes recycling uneconomic, especially for retailers, various automatic machines that accept material for recycling and issue deposit refunds have been proposed. These machines relieve the burdens on the grocery industry and those who must collect the containers, pay the refunds, and store the returned commodities. For example, Applicants' assignee is the owner of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,324,325, 4,345,679, 4,440,284, 4,469,212, 4,492,295 4,573,641, 4,579,216, 4,784,251, and 5,226,519. All of these patents relate to machines and systems for automated redemption of beverage containers.
Another approach to improving the economics of recycling is to increase the scrap value of the recycled material. One method for increasing the scrap value is to segregate the returned material into groups whose scrap price is inherently higher than the scrap price of unsegregated material. Separation of scrap by composition (for example, glass and plastic) or by color (for example, clear glass and green glass) greatly increases the value of the scrap material. Separation of plastic scrap further according to chemical make-up is also desirable with vinyl-based container scrap being excluded from mixture with high density polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) container scrap.
In the past, segregation of returned containers has been labor intensive, so that the labor to perform the sorting can sometimes cost more than the increase in resale value of the segregated material.
The device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,519 discloses a device for receiving various different types of commodities and maintaining separation of each type. However, this device includes a plurality of collection stations for receiving a plurality of commodities through a plurality of insert ports, each port for receiving one different predetermined type of commodity. The device requires the consumer to first insert all containers of one type (for example, cans) into one collection station, and receive a payment for those containers. Next, the consumer inserts containers of another type in another collection station for a separate payment. A consumer having three types of containers to recycle must therefore stand in three separate lines at three separate collection stations and receive three separate payments. Further, the multiple stations require the retailer to provide a large amount of space to house the devices.
Prior recycling machines have also been cumbersome to use because many machines require the consumer to place individual containers into the machine by hand one at a time. Therefore, a safety device was required to prevent the consumer from being injured by the machine. Prior devices have included a safety door which must be closed after inserting a container in order for the machine to accept the container and begin operation. Thus, the consumer had to insert a container, close the door, wait for the machine to operate, open the door, insert another container, close the door, etc., in order to recycle a number of containers. Further, as noted above, keeping the recycled materials separate once accepted by the machine required the consumer to walk from machine to machine inserting a different type of container in each.
When recycling densified containers, it is desirable that the different types of densified material, or "cullet," be stored in segregated storage areas. For example, aluminum cullet, glass cullet, and plastic, or PET, cullet should be segregated one from another. Furthermore, green glass cullet should be kept segregated from brown glass cullet and clear glass cullet. The same rule applies for clear and colored PET. Such segregation is important because recyclers will pay more for segregated cullet than for cross-contaminated cullet.
Such segregation, however, is difficult to achieve. After the containers have passed through the densifying device, the densified cullet must be distributed in some manner to segregated storage locations. Previous distribution systems, such as feeding paddles, forced air blowers, vacuum systems, and conveyor systems, have been inefficient at preventing the cullet from becoming cross-contaminated. This cross-contamination causes a substantial reduction in the value of the cullet.
As stated above, it is desirable to provide the capability of both crushing glass containers, and shredding aluminum and PET containers, in the same machine. Combined glass crushing and aluminum/PET shredding enables a consumer to turn in all of his recyclable containers at one machine location, rather than multiple machine locations. However, combining glass crushing and aluminum/PET shredding at one location increases the chances of cullet cross-contamination.